


Magic Paint

by 8ball



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/F, M/M, Nail Polish, Usopps perspective, like nothing but sanji painting everyones nails, that it thats the whole thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23496700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/8ball/pseuds/8ball
Summary: Luffy sticks his hands out.“Paint mine!”Usopp watches the expressions on Sanji’s face. He likes watching the obvious emotions go through him like a slideshow, and it's somehow comforting that he can see the exact moment Sanji decides that going along with Luffy will be the easiest choice. So Usopp waits for Sanji to test his own nails, deem them dry enough, unscrew the tiny brush top again, and then he asks if Sanji will do his, too. And because Sanji already has the brush ready, and they’re both right there anyways, Usopp knows he’s going to get what he wants.or the au that came from nowhere where Sanji paints his nails and everyone elses and thats really it
Relationships: Nami/Nefertari Vivi, Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji
Comments: 46
Kudos: 734





	Magic Paint

**Author's Note:**

> not gonna lie i got drunk last night, wrote half of this, then decided to just go ahead and finish the rest this morning

-o-

  
  


Luffy and Usopp walk in on Sanji while he's just finishing his third finger on his right hand, brushing over the nail with a seashell pink so precisely that they both stop in their tracks. Luffy actually does so literally, so Usopp runs into him nose first. 

For a good couple of seconds they just watch him from the door, so caught up in the neat little movements that they forget the reason they had wanted a cup of flour in the first place. Then Sanji finishes the hand, screws the bottle top back on, and turns to them to ask what the fuck they want. 

“Why do you use the same color your nails already are?” Is Luffy’s immediate spoken thought, since he’s not about to start a habit of thinking _quietly_. 

“It's a little pinker, actually. Now what’dya want.” 

Luffy and Usopp sit down across from him, answer forgotten as they watch him wave his hands back and forth to dry the nails. Sanji seems to be losing his patience at every passing second, but he can't do anything until the nails dry so he’s stuck. Then, suddenly, Luffy sticks his hands out.

“Paint mine!”

Usopp watches the expressions on Sanji’s face. He likes watching the obvious emotions go through him like a slideshow, and it's somehow comforting that he can see the exact moment Sanji decides that going along with Luffy will be the easiest choice. So Usopp waits for Sanji to test his own nails, deem them dry enough, unscrew the tiny brush top again, and then he asks if Sanji will do his, too. And because Sanji already has the brush ready, and they’re both _right there anyways_ , Usopp knows he’s going to get what he wants. He seals the deal himself. 

“I’ve never tried, so your hands would be steadier, right?” He reasons. 

It's a half lie, because Usopp has been making shit since he was old enough to get his hands on said shit, and he’s not a bad painter if he says so himself. But he wants _Sanji_ to do it, because same as Luffy and Zoro and Nami, they all know how special it is to have Sanji do something for you- the care he puts into everything. And Sanji relents with the excuse that _yeah, he’d be better at it_ even though they both know that if Usopp had walked in and asked him to paint the entire Going Merry the ship could somehow be painted and Sanji would claim he was going to do it anyways, so shut the fuck up. 

He does Luffy first, and they all realize at the same time that Luffy has the _worst_ nails, splintered off and cracked (probably from punching people) and something about his cuticles is apparently bad, because next thing they all know Sanji has a nail file out and is getting to work. By the time Luffy’s nails are deemed ready to be painted, Usopp has had the time to become self conscious of his own bitten-off nails. He reaches for the file, but Sanji’s hand stops him. 

“I’ll do it.”

So Usopp sits back and watches Sanji paint Luffy’s nails, and then scream at him to sit _still_ , they're not _dry_ , and Luffy starts waving his hands around like a bad chicken dance. Sanji leaves him to it and takes Usopp’s hands. 

“You gotta stop biting your nails.”

“Well you should probably smoke less.” It’s hard for him to argue when Sanji is looking at him and holding both his hands. Sanji just raises a brow and gets to work. 

By the time Sanji is putting everything away Usopp and Luffy have compared their fingers meticulously. Usopp’s skin is darker, and the little dots of color give his whole hand a soft look, like he’s dipped the nails in cherry blossoms. Luffy’s grin is stretched wide as he turns back to Sanji.

“Next time, I want red.”

-o-

  
  


Sanji is the one who actually reminds Luffy when the paint is chipping, probably because Luffy only looks at his hands in relation to what he has _in_ his hands, and even then if it's not food he's not going to pay attention. Usopp bought more colors for them in town, since he had a feeling that Sanji didn't own colors like electric green and bright purple. He got a clear one just for Sanji, to put on top of the paint so it lasted longer. As a thank you he painted Usopp’s nails with the sunshine yellow picked up a few towns back, and declared it “Usopp’s color”. 

Luffy figured out pretty quickly that he didn't have to limit himself to one color per hand, and it stressed Usopp out more than Sanji. Some colors just didn't go together, and normally he’d let Sanji make that call, but Usopp had seen some of the shirts Sanji wore, and well. 

Nami didn't join them that often because she did her own nails. She did, however, rope Sanji into doing her toes. She also said that if Luffy ever used her _personal_ nail polish, she would charge him three times the bottle’s worth and make Sanji cook vegetarian meals for a week. 

Zoro, to no one’s surprise, took an embarrassingly long time to notice. With his usual level of tact he asked Luffy about the “shit on his hands”, and got kicked overboard. What no one expected was for him to leave the galley the next day (still bruised, possibly missing a tooth) with neat black nails. 

“You should have done green! Like your hair!” Luffy whined. 

Usopp actually thought the nails looked pretty badass. They matched the whole Zoro color scheme, and it made sense anyways that Zoro would need to keep his nails short and tidy for holding a sword. Zoro inspects his hand, grunting. 

“Look’s cool.”

Luffy and Usopp nod. Definitely cool. 

  
  


-o-

“Absolutely not.”

“Sannjjjiiiiiiiii-

“ _No_.” 

Usopp, Nami, and Zoro sipped tea, watching Luffy paw at Sanji’s shirt. It was by some unspoken agreement that they would all allow the outcome to be decided by Sanji, and they would remain neutral until further notice. 

“But it’d look so _cool_ -

“It would look _bad_.”

Sanji turned off one burner and flipped another on, moving a pot over. Sanji had his usual shell pink color, nails rounded smoothly and adding to the overall elegance of his movements. Luffy had one hand dedicated to any variations of red he could get his hands on, and the other a version he wanted from Sanji.

He’d come up with the idea on his own that they should all be matching, at least for their next fight, which could be in a few hours or a few days. But not simple matching like everyone using the color blue or something, because Luffy didn't _do_ simple. Luffy wanted each nail to be different, to be _their_ colors. Light pink for Sanji, dark pink for Nami, black for Zoro, yellow for Usopp, and red for him. It wasn't a great color combination all together, but it wasn't _awful_. 

“You did it for me though!”

“Yes, and it looks bad.”

“Then why’d you do it?”

“Because you fucking asked!”

“I’m asking now!”

Sanji turned back to the stove, cursing out a long line about idiot captains. Zoro looked at his hand. 

“I don't wanna be the little finger.”

Usopp and Nami shared a look. Sanji turned, smirking. 

“Oh, you’re the middle finger.” and then flipped Zoro off, like he was proving something. 

Zoro and Sanji fought it out while Usopp and Nami decided that no, Usopp had no problem being the little finger and it made sense that the navigator would be the pointer finger, and Luffy had to be the thumbs, right? Sanji would probably like being the ring finger, say it was romantic. Zoro probably liked being the middle finger anyways. 

For the next few days they displayed oddly colored hands until another pirate ship engaged them. Even then they didn't change colors until the paint chipped. 

“It’s not like the remover is free.” Nami reasoned. 

“The remover is definitely not free.” Usopp assured. 

Sanji said red clashed with Zoro’s hair, and he looked like a poor excuse of an already dead holly bush. 

-o-

  
  
  


Nami and Sanji fought over nail painting rights for Vivi in a very unsubtle way, and Usopp thought it was hilarious. What was also hilarious was how jealous Luffy and Zoro were, now that their nail time was being threatened. Vivi didn't seem to know what was going on or what to do, only that her nail color was changing at alarming rates. 

When Nami got sick, it was Vivi who painted her nails, blowing on each finger individually and holding Nami’s hand after. It wasn't subtle either, the thing Nami and Vivi were doing; Vivi painting her nails with Nami’s darker pink, and Nami taking a liking to a blue that couldn't have been more than 2 shades off from Vivi’s hair. Sanji applied a fresh coat on his and Usopp’s nails and commented on it, saying how cute it was. Apparently Sanji was more generous about giving up nail rights when it involved love. 

The biggest dilemma that no one had ever thought would be a dilemma was Chopper, immediately asking if Sanji could do _his_ nails and then just as quickly remembering that he didn't have nails. He had burst into tears and Zoro had frantically tried to chip off his own paint, except Zoro got a knife out to try and scrape the paint off faster because of course he did, and then Chopper and Sanji were screaming at him about losing fingers. Nami had used the minutes of chaos to come up with the idea of painting the tips of Chopper’s hooves. Sanji jumped on the idea, and Chopper picked Sanji’s favorite color, the one that looked closest to cherry blossom pink. Then Sanji removed the chipped black paint from Zoro (“like _this_ , you use the fucking remover, for shits sake”) and also painted Zoro’s nails the light pink. Usopp figured that maybe it was supposed to be some sort of punishment, but it _thrilled_ Chopper. So Nami and Vivi joined in, and then Luffy and Usopp weren't going to be left out either, and Sanji made flower tea because why not. 

“I never thought about it before, but I think I get why Sanji does it.” Luffy said, sipping his tea with Usopp by the railing. 

Usopp had always looked at Sanji’s hands (his precious, giving hands) and thought that it would be weird if Sanji _didn't_ paint his nails. And if anything, the paint was like a tiny shield for each nail, a miniature little barrier that maybe protected Sanji from a gust of steam, or a pointy fork or something. Usopp looked at his own hands, and at Luffy’s. Worn out skin with cuts and calluses and no small amount of scars. 

“So why does he do it then?” 

Luffy held up his sakura-pink fingers, wiggling them as he grinned. 

“Because it's pretty.”

Zoro stomped over, carrying Chopper in his arms like he’d been doing that for years. 

“What’s pretty?” He asked. 

“The nails.” Usopp said, at the same time Luffy said “Sanji.” 

Usopp opened his mouth to scold Luffy, but it wasn't like Luffy was wrong. Judging from the way Zoro’s face lit up, he didn't disagree either. 

“The nails and Sanji are pretty.” Chopper said, nodding sagely. Zoro coughed awkwardly into his hand. Usopp grinned. 

“Why Zoro-kun, do you think he’s _not_?” Usopp said in a scandalized voice. Luffy had started laughing. 

“No I- no, shut _up_.”

Usopp and Luffy dissolve into laughter. Chopper offered Zoro an ice pack, since it looked like he was getting heat stroke on his face.

  
  


-o-

  
  


Zoro only had 3 nails painted one morning, and when Luffy asked him about it he turned bright red and started growling like an enormous cat. 

“I know what happened. I saw.” Nami said. Usopp narrowed his eyes at her. 

“You mean you were spying.” 

Nami elbowed Usopp in the ribs. 

“Do you want to know or not?”

Usopp did want to know, so he shut up. It wasn't often Nami offered information for free (minus the injury). Apparently Zoro had been purposefully ruining his nails so that Sanji would do touch ups more often, but the main event of last night had been that while Sanji was on the third nail, Zoro had leaned across the table and _kissed_ him. 

“While he was in the middle of painting?” Usopp couldn't imagine it. The only thing he could think of that would be worse was Zoro interrupting Sanji while he was cooking. Or, actually, it was just a well known rule that Nami and _only_ Nami could even partially interrupt Sanji when he was doing anything. Nami nodded somberly. 

“While he was in the middle of painting.” 

Pure blasphemy. Usopp wondered how Zoro had survived. Except, he realized, if the kiss had been received _well_ -

“No _way_.” Usopp whispered. Nami’s eyes actually sparkled. 

“ _Yes_.” She said. 

They painted each other’s nails bright red in the girls room.

“Why red?” Vivi asked. 

“For _love_.” Nami and Usopp replied, laughing. 

  
  
  


-o-

  
  


After alabaster, 3 things happened. Well, 4 things, but Zoro and Sanji had always acted like an old married couple. The first was that Nico Robin joined, and _didn't_ want her nails done. It was unheard of. Everyone got their nails done by Sanji, it was like _religion_ . The second was that Nami, thrown into a state of heartbreak after they left Vivi, demanded Sanji only paint her nails dark, depressing colors, and she really, really didn't want to see any blue paint on _anyone_. The third was that Luffy, missing Ace, wanted little flames painted on his nails. This was a job, deemed by Sanji, for Usopp, and not a very busy chef who has actually god damn work to do. Usopp did his best, declared openly that it looked pretty shitty, but Luffy loved it. 

If Usopp was curious about why Robin didn't want her nails done, then Sanji was desperate. He held bottles up for her to inspect, commenting on how lovely the shade was and how it would compliment her skin tone, or her eyes, or her sleek hair. Maybe Sanji was addicted, and Luffy and Usopp had started it all. But Luffy posed the critical question. 

“If Sanji paints the nails on a flower hand, will it appear on your real hand?”

Usopp could guess that Robin already knew the answer, but between Sanji and Luffy pleading, she sprouted a hand for them on the table. Sanji chose a very neutral dark pink, going over each nail twice while Luffy watched, mouth open like something spectacular was about to happen. 

“Alright, done.”

Usopp and Sanji held their breath. Luffy was practically vibrating and Robin waved her hand, the arm on the table disappearing gently. Robin’s hand was noticeably devoid of pink. 

Sanji collapsed into a chair, looking miserable. Usopp considered it a great waste of paint in the end, and Luffy looked on the verge of mental collapse. Usopp was about to go get Nami and beg her to let Sanji redo her nails (in a light color this time, really, black should just be Zoro’s color), when Robin got up and went to the table. 

“You were right after all, cook-san. It was a lovely color.” 

And then she held out her (real) hands for Sanji. 

  
  


-o-

  
  


Franky had his own metal paint, because normal nail polish didn't work that well for him. Still, the tradition continued (mostly by Luffy’s isistance) and Sanji did Franky’s nails in a bright teal to match his hair. Robin wanted a dark red herself, something about the color of blood, which was when Usopp stopped listening. 

Usopp wanted a bright cherry red. Luffy’s color. 

Sanji knew what was up the moment Usopp reached for the color. He put extra care into pushing the cuticles back, into making the paint layers even. He covered the dried paint with the clear coat, something he almost never did since Usopp tended to ruin his nails immediately anyways. 

“He’ll like it, don't worry.”

Usopp only nodded, throat giving a little jump because he was trying not to cry. He wanted to ask _but do_ you _like it?_ Because he’d almost given up on _this_ , and where would he be, without everything that was his life with his nakama? 

“Thanks, Sanji.”

He wondered if Sanji could hear all the words behind the thanks, all the multiple apologies and still more thank yous for a hundred times when Usopp had sat where he was and Sanji had been patient with him. 

“Anytime.” 

He screws the cap back on the bright red, smiling because he means it, and he knows Usopp knows he means it. 

  
  


-o-

  
  
  


Sanji takes one look at Brook and then turns to Luffy. 

“Don't make me do-

“You gotta do the thing!”

Sanji sighs, then tells a confused Brook to sit the hell down. Luffy gets up in Brook’s space and asks what color he wants his bone-nails to be.

“Bone-nails?” He asks. 

“Yeah, cuz you have bones, but it's still where your nails would be.” Luffy explains. 

“Don't call them that, it's weird.” Sanji gripes as he puts a big box down in front of Brook. 

Brook picks a plum purple, and Sanji does his damn best to make the nail shapes. He even touches up Chopper’s hooves in some kind of not-nail solidarity. Then he picks out a bright, sparkly pink that no one ever touches except sometimes Chopper and Luffy, and says he’s going to do the marimo’s nails while he’s asleep. 

That’s Zoro’s mini punishment until he heals up enough for Sanji to kick his ass, apparently. Sanji still sits him down and does his nails, but even after they leave Thriller Bark it's only the really bad colors that only Luffy touches on occasion. There's even a gray-brown color that no one’s ever seen before. 

Eventually Zoro upgrades to the light pink that Sanji still uses, and no one knows if that means things are fixed between them or still getting there or what. Sanji’s obviously still a bit pissed- he’s been wearing dark red. 

Nami shoves Usopp into the galley, because she’s not getting paid enough to deal with that mess, and Usopp happens to be a _kind_ and _generous_ soul. 

“So.” He begins. Sanji gives him a _look_. 

“You’re not giving me relationship advice.” 

Sanji makes it sound like a threat, probably because it is, and Usopp raises his hands in surrender. 

“Hear me out at least.”

Sanji raises an eyebrow but doesn't stop him. Usopp panics a bit and looks around, because he didn't actually plan anything and _really_ doesn't want to try and give dating advice. His eyes settle on The Box, where everyone knows the comunal nail polish is kept. 

“Let me paint your nails?”

Sanji looks at him, then inspects his own obviously perfect nails. There's an awkward moment before, to Usopp’s surprise, Sanji goes and gets The Box and sits at the table. Usopp walks over, sitting down as Sanji selects colors and holds them up to the light. 

“Ok, this one.”

Usopp only just catches himself from raising his eyebrows. He looks at Sanji, because really?

“Shut up.” 

“I didn't say anything.”

Usopp shuts up though, and paints Sanji’s nails green.

-o-

It's a weird feeling for everyone when the paint chips, and weirder still once all the paint finally goes. Usopp goes back to biting his nails, thinking about Luffy’s bright cherry red color, and the picture of him in the newspaper with all that blood. 

It's a long 2 years. 

-o-

  
  


It turns out that a lot of nail polish isn't meant to last 2 years, and Nami and Usopp throw out what can't be saved. What they’re left with are a few reds, a sky blue, some sort of mustard color and a magenta. They divide and conquer, Nami getting the normal colors while Usopp hunts for the weird ones he knows Luffy likes. He gets some metal paint for Franky. 

Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy still aren’t back yet. Brook’s got his own brand of nail polish now, one that glows in the dark. Franky doesn't have fingernails anymore, but that's never stopped Sanji before. 

And then they’re all back, and it's chaos, and it's great, and Zoro pulls a little pink bottle of the _Sanji color_ out of nowhere and gives it to Sanji, and Usopp thinks that's basically a marriage proposal. 

“You know you could have just painted your own nails, right?” Sanji says later, putting dishes away while Usopp organizes all the new polish by color. 

“No, we really couldn't have.” 

Sanji looks at him then, and Usopp just shrugs, because sometimes the truth is way simpler than a lie and Sanji has a habit of being dense. Usopp looks down at his bright yellow fingers happily. Everyone still chose their old colors, except Luffy who wanted as many as possible.

Zoro sticks his head in the galley, nodding at Usopp and turning to Sanji. 

“Come on cook, we’re sharing stories.”

Usopp smiles because Zoro still talks in that roundabout way, and can't just come out and say _I missed you, come sit by me_. Sanji tells him to hold the fuck on, some people on this ship actually work, you could always help me y’know. Usopp takes his leave then, because that's as clear a sign as any that the two want to be together, preferably alone. Zoro pats his shoulder as they pass each other, black nails clean and shiny. Usopp wonders how long the paint will last before Zoro ruins it on purpose. 

“Usopp, come tell us a tall tale!” Nami shouts from her spot on the lawn. 

Usopp walks over, sprawling out in the grass by Franky. 

“Sure. I got an old one actually.”

He leans back, closing his eyes. Robin’s hands unfurl around them, passing out cups. 

“It goes like this; Once upon a time there was a man who used magic paint-

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> also just want to do a shout out to Laundry by Libbylune, because they really did gods work with writing a sanji not confined to masculine gender expectations


End file.
